Haruji Matsue

Haruji Matsue

Haruji Matsue (松江春次 , Matsue Haruji^?) (1878 – 1954) was a Japanese entrepreneur and the first person to manufacture the sugar cube in Japan.^[1] He donated money from his successful business to his home town of Aizuwakamatsu. A technical high school, Aizu Kōgyon kōkō (会津工業高校), was constructed using these funds.

Nanyo Kohatsu Kabushiki Kaisha

Matsue was trained in the United States at Louisiana State University, well-known at the time for its work in sugar cultivation.^[2] He made his name and fortune in the sugar business in Taiwan before moving to the Mariana Islands to explore sugar-growing prospects on Saipan.

Meanwhile, the first governor of Nanyo cho, Tezuka Toshiro, was turning to the Oriental Development Company to revive the economy of Saipan and rescue the former employees of two failed companies, Nishimura Takushoku and Nan'yō Shokusan.^[3] With the capital from these companies and government approval, Matsue acquired the assets of the Nan'yō Shokusan. In 1921 he founded the Nanyo Kohatsu Kabushiki Kaisha (South Seas Development Company). He trained Japanese laborers living on Saipan and others brought over from Okinawa and the Tōhoku region to clear the land, cultivate and harvest sugar cane, and build his refineries.

By 1925 Matsue had built an alcohol factory and ice plant on Saipan, planted over 3000 hectares of sugar, and extended his operations to Saipan's neighboring islands. By the end of the decade, he had brought more than 5,000 workers to the Marianas.^[4]

References

1. ^ City of Aizu (no date): Commemorative plaque at Aizu Kōgyo　kōkō, Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Viewed on 2008-07-29
2. ^ Peattie, Mark R. (1988). Nan'yō: The Rise and Fall of the Japanese in Micronesia, 1885-1945. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 124. ISBN 0824814800. 
3. ^ Peattie, Mark R. (1988). Nan'yō: The Rise and Fall of the Japanese in Micronesia, 1885-1945. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 126. ISBN 0824814800. 
4. ^ Lal, Brij V.; Kate Fortune (2000). The Pacific Islands: an encyclopedia. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 214. ISBN 082482265X. 

Persondata
Name	Matsue, Haruji
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1878
Place of birth
Date of death	1954
Place of death